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Mystery vs. History
Recap When Ted decides to go on a date with a woman named Janet McIntyre without researching her, Barney and Robin attempt to intervene by researching Janet for him, which he insists that they do not. Ted explains to Kevin that Robin and Barney have researched many of the women he dated in the past and ruined the relationships by revealing unappealing background information on them. Before his date with Janet, he makes a deal with her that they will not research each other on the Internet, which she agrees to. In the meantime, Marshall and Lily recruit Barney, Robin, and Kevin to help paint the room for their baby. Though they have obtained the information on the sex of their baby, they choose not to open the envelope containing the information so that the baby's sex will be a surprise when it is born. Barney disagrees with their decision and tries to convince them to open the envelope, arguing that there are advantages to knowing what the child's sex will be. When everyone begins arguing about whether "mystery" is better, Kevin calls them out on their behavior. He admits that while he did not want to analyze them, he has noticed that everyone in their group is unreasonably close and have been meddling too much in each others lives. While Kevin's assessment appears to be true, it causes a rift between him and Robin, which he attempts to make up for by offering to paint the rest of the room by himself. During the painting session, Barney and Robin have insisted on continuing their research on Janet for Ted. Through their research, they learn a number of startling things about Janet which they attempt to share with Ted. Marshall eventually allows Barney to learn the sex of the baby if he does not tell him and Lily, but Barney eventually convinces them to look, only to rip the card in half and refuse to give the half with the information back to Lily and Marshall. Barney agrees to give it to them if they look at what he and Robin have learned about Janet. When Marshall gets the card, he and Lily are unable to firmly decide if they want to know, and Marshall ends up throwing the card out the window for the sake of "mystery." Meanwhile, Ted is having trouble conversing with Janet without the use of the Internet during their date. Despite initial attempts to resist everyone's insistence that he should look her up on the Internet, he gives in and learns that she is extremely accomplished. Ted becomes nervous and Janet leaves him, recognizing that his sudden change in behavior means that he has learned about all her achievements and he has become intimidated by her like everyone else who dates her. After he rejoins his friends, Ted tells them that he regrets giving in and that he would rather have "mystery" over "history" for his future dates. When Ted puts his foot up on a stool, Marshall notices that the card he threw on the window had stuck to Ted's shoe; he and Lily learn that their baby will be a boy. Continuity *Barney is still wearing ducky tie from the previous episodes. *The title of this episode is shown on the New York magazine in and . It says "Mystery Vs History: Is It Better Not to Know?". * Ted mentions his parents' divorce, which happened in . * Robin started dating Kevin in . * previously revealed that Lily and Marshall have a son. * Barney exclaims, "They're six minutes into the date; Ted's probably already told her that he loves her!" This references Ted and Robin's first date in as well as Ted's reputation of moving too quickly with women he is interested in, and also "The Mosby," a term coined in . * Robin's flashback to her fourteenth birthday references her father raising her as a boy, first revealed in . Two years later, she "moved in with her mother, grew her hair out, and became a teen pop star in Canada" (first mentioned in ). * The song "Murder Train" by the Foreskins, which is first referenced in , makes a return in this episode. The flashbacks used in the song detail all physical altercations shown in the series so far, including all four slaps, Ted's low blow from , Lily throwing a drink in Barney's face in , Robin at the shooting range, and more. * The way in which Ted falls for Janet is reminiscent of how Barney hooked up with Shelly in , although it should be noted that, unlike Janet, Barney simply pretends to be a famous awesome person. * In the opening sequence, Chester R. has a picture with the caption "Boats Boats Boats!", referring to a commercial that Robin's coworker Becky made in the episode . Gallery MysteryVsHistory11.jpg MysteryVsHistory10.jpg MysteryVsHistory9.jpg MysteryVsHistory8.jpg MysteryVsHistory7.jpg MysteryVsHistory6.jpg 398px-MysteryVsHistory4.jpg 318px-MysteryVsHistory1.jpg MysteryVsHistory1.jpg MysteryVsHistory2.jpg MysteryVsHistory3.jpg MysteryVsHistory4.jpg MysteryVsHistory5.jpg 120px-MysteryVsHistory5.jpg Janet McIntyre 1.JPG Janet McIntyre 2.jpg Janet McIntyre 3.jpg Janet McIntyre 4.jpg Janet McIntyre 5.jpg Janet McIntyre 6.jpg Janet McIntyre 7.JPG Janet McIntyre 8.jpg Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *Lily was not even through her first trimester, so she and Marshall should not have been able to find out the gender of the baby at this time. *Barney showed Ted naked pictures on his laptop, but Ted did not make his naked lady noise. Allusions and Outside References *The opening is a spoof on the opening credits of another CBS program, . *In the opening spoof, "Alicia P." is shown to have Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) as one of her favorite actors. *Throughout the episode, the cast members proclaim that they just "gots to know," in reference to . *The credits in Barney's presentation show that it was directed by [McG. *The movie Annie Hall and its director [Allen|Woody Allen are mentioned several times by Ted, Janet and Robin. *When teasing Marshall and Lily, Barney says, was the feel-good movie of 1988." *Lily reveals that when she gets lonely while waiting for Marshall to come back, she will watch without him. Music *Murder Train - The Foreskins Other Notes *In Barney's Slideshow, the first two babies were, Gideon Scott Harris and Harper Grace Harris, Neil's and his partner, 's, actual children in real life. Guests *Kal Penn - Kevin *Amber Stevens - Janet McIntyre *Ray Wise - Robin Scherbatsky Sr. *Eleanor Seigler - Mia *Rachel Sterling - Paula Podcast thumb|300px|right|Podcast for the episodeFeaturing an interview with Kal Penn. Reception Donna Bowman of the AV Club gave the episode a B+http://www.avclub.com/articles/mystery-vs-history,63482/. Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4 out of 5 starshttp://www.tvfanatic.com/2011/10/how-i-met-your-mother-review-mystery-vs-history/. References External Links *''Mystery Vs. History'' press release at CBS Press Express. *